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Is this the Best Topwater Lure for Snakehead?

I think I may have just found the best topwater lure for snakehead fishing.. or at the very least the best lure for the money. You can currently get a 5 pack on Amazon for just $16.58. If you just want to try out one, you can get it HERE for about $3. Considering most topwater lures start around $6 that alone makes them worth it. But this lure checks off all the boxes for just being an awesome topwater lure, especially if you’re targeting snakeheads.

Here’s what I love about this little lure outside of the cheap price:

It’s designed for an easy hook set. Few things are more frustrating then finally having your lure sucked down only for you to go set hook and the lure come flying back at you at the speed of sound. This little wanna be suicide duck has a slender head and a big round body that easily compresses exposing plenty of hook. Nothing is getting in the way of this hook blasting the fish’s pallet.
The lure always sits upright. I’ve fished with a number of topwater frogs, a large number of them seem to want to ride upside down, or they’ll submarine if I start reeling in too fast. For some reason this little guy fast or slow always comes back exactly how it should, even as it starts to fill up with water.
It’s small but has amazing action. I’ve found bigger is not always better. If you pull it fast the spinner kicks up plenty of water and if you pull it very slow it has almost a little waddle in the water all the while the spoon on the back is spinning. It’s small in size but HUGE in action and should have no problem getting the fish, especially the snakehead to bite. The fact that it is smaller prevents short strikes.
The blade spins and it’s location prevents hangups, it really is weedless. The blade is a spinner on a barrel swivel and it is attached to the weight that keeps this little duck upright. The nice thing about that is the blade sits just a little higher than the bottom of the hook. This means if you’re pulling the lure through weeds and muck it isn’t coming back with a bunch of junk hung up on the blade. It skims right long the surface which is in part why it’s such a perfect snakehead lure.
It sinks suuuuuper slow when you stop. I found this interesting, and I think could really help with short strikes, or if you’re fishing in heavy vegetation. When you pause the retrieve the lure will start to sink but crazy slow. Like maybe an inch every 2 seconds. I’ve fished heavy vegetation where there is a random little opening and though it be great if when I stopped that the lure would drop a little to catch the eye of a fish that might be hanging out in the vegetation break.

There are plenty of other great topwater fishing lures out there. If you’re targeting snakehead checkout snakeheadoutlawz on facebook. They have something called the “Snake Charmer” that everyone raves about. It’s a very similar design to this duck lure with the spinning blades as well. With that said if you’re just looking for a cheap topwater lure, that doesn’t get hung up, has great action, and an easy hook set, I just can’t see how you can go wrong with this little lure. Highly recommended!

Aliexpress Trolling Motor Review, 18lb Thrust

I ordered an Aliexpress trolling motor for $113 with shipping on July 12th, just shy of 6 weeks later it arrived at my door. This was to be expected plus it was right in the middle of Covid-19, so the fact it even showed up we'll call that a win.

Here's a Link to the exact trolling motor I purchased from the same seller

The packaging wasn't bad, they used what I assume was an entire roll of tape on the box. There was thick foam surrounding the motor inside and it arrived undamaged.

I was also impressed that when I emailed the seller asking about timing I got a pretty quick response. It's important to remember these people are on the other side of the world so day and night are flip-flopped so at the earliest it usually takes about a day to hear anything back.

It's hard to beat a new trolling motor for $100

Opening the box the prop and parts to install it are in a separate little bag. The steering handle is actually recessed in the trolling motor head, you pull a little pin on the bottom and it pops right out, I guess it's spring loaded. This is actually a nice little feature for easy storage. The battery alligator clips are already installed so it's pretty much ready to go right out of the box.

The motor is ridiculously light. Maybe it's because I already own a 55lb thrust minn kota V2 Bow mount that feels like it weighs 100lbs. I can literally lift this thing up with a pinky finger. This makes it fantastic as a backup on an aluminum jon boat, kayak or canoe. My plan is to actually shorten the shaft and keep it in the storage compartment of a waverunner as a way to get back to shore should the engine suddenly take a dump on me (happened to me before and sucked).

There are two switches, one is forward and reverse the other is high and low speed. I don't know why H and L represent forward and reverse but they do on this trolling motor. The handle doesn't have a throttle like most trolling motors, it's just for steering.

It's not the greatest quality but what do you expect out of an Aliexpress trolling motor?

There are some things about this motor that I really wasn't impressed with. The glue that connects the actual motor to the shaft is sloppy, hopefully it's not meant to keep water out because there are some spots where there are holes in the glue. Easy enough fix with just a quick dab of silicone, but again, not super impressive.

The other thing is the "hardware" all the little pieces that hold everything together are plastic, it actually makes it feel more like a child's toy then a trolling motor, but I guess for something so light and only 18lb thrust you don't need anything more than plastic components? Again, I suppose a quick trip to the hardware store for some replacement bolts could be an easy enough solution.

The propeller is also extremely small, but I'm going off of comairing it to a 55lb minn kota, but it just looks like this little fan blade or something. It is stronger than I was expecting when I tried to bend it, but it's hard to imagine this pushing a 220lb boat as it mentions in the product listing. I wouldn't expect any real speed out of this thing on the water. If you're just looking for something to take over paddling here and there It's not a bad option, but don't expect much more.

The mounting bracket is probably the most impressing part of the motor. It looks to be made out of heavy duty plastic, I imagine it's probably the same bracket they use on the larger motors up to their 50lb thrust so this seems like overkill for this little guy, but better then it being junk.

Overall opinion

I don't know that this motor is really anything to write home about. Though it's hard to beat $100 for a new trolling motor, and I really think this makes for a great plan B on the water due to how light and small it is. But you have to figure if you have a large fishing kayak loaded with gear that could be 125lbs then add your body weight you could easily be over 300lbs and this motor isn't really rated for more than 220lbs. There are videos on youtube showing guys in kayaks getting pushed around, so it'll work, it'll just move a little on the slow side. If that doesn't bother you then this could be a great option.

I think the light weight and small blade could also make it a great option for us snakehead fishermen. If you're in a lighter kayak in shallow water along the lily pads looking for the snakeheads you don't need a rocket of a trolling motor, this is quiet and enough to move you along easy enough, so in that case I think this is actually a great option.

If you want something a little better built with some more power I'd recommend stepping up to the Minn Kota C2 it'll end up costing you about $70 more then this little aliexpress trolling motor, but you get what you pay for. You can find the Minn Kota on Amazon HERE.

So would I recommend this motor? I think I would, it just depends on the application. if you have a light canoe or light kayak without much gear it should be a good option. If you're just looking for something other then a paddle to move you around shallow lily pads without fighting a current it should be a great option. If you just want it on the boat as a backup plan should something go wrong it's light and small so it's easy to stow away. If you have a larger boat, or a heavy kayak you may want to step up to the Minn Kota.

Cheapest Baitcaster Reel Review ($18 it’s Awesome!)

This is the cheapest baitcaster I could find and it works so well I ordered 2 more.. seriously, here's the proof.

I've used quite a few different baitcasters in the past, Abu Garcia, KastKing, a bunch of really expensive ones my old fishing partner used to have, but to be honest I just never really liked them.

I always felt like I was fighting the reel, that I couldn't get good distance, my accuracy was terrible and I couldn't do short casts. No matter how I set the reel I always found myself putting it down for a spinning rod after a few casts. Not wanting to give up, I figured I'd try other reels and just start with the cheapest one I could find as I had thrown super expensive ones before with no luck.

A little about the reel itself outside of what you can read on the product listing...

Overall it's really not that impressive to look at. It's just black plastic and metal, nothing like the Kastking Assasin on my other pole that has carbon fiber, blue aluminium alloy, rocket boosters, etc. So when I put it on my St. Croix casting rod I really wasn't expecting much. I set the magnetic brake to 10, threw on some 12lb mono, set the spool tension so the hollow frog lure fell at just the right speed and headed for the pond across the street.

This reel almost casts too far, like I'm still waiting for the lure to hit the water...

My first cast I really put some muscle into it and was SHOCKED when the lure hit the other side of the pond. I've never come close to the other side of the pond even with my spinning reels. I used MeasureMyYard.com to figure out how wide the pond actually is, 103 ft. This is literally probably 3 times further than I've ever thrown a baitcasting reel. I did end up with a little backlash which I was kind of expecting because of how much power I put behind that cast but it wasn't horrible and I later found out it was really the result of fresh mono and line memory.

Now I don't know that I would exactly call this a "beginners" baitcaster. Reason being is you need to know how to work your thumb, making sure you work that spool when the lure hits the water because the magnetic brake only does so much. I will say backlash on my KastKing assassin is pretty much nonexistent thumb or no thumb, but what I gain in magnetic brake I give up on distance and accuracy.

So whats it like catching a fish on this amazing $18 baitcaster?

Like catching a fish on anything else I suppose. The drag works as it should and the reel is smooth. My first fish was an okay sized bass. It hit right next to shore, a quick hook set, short fight and a few flops in the mud and that was it. I was happy to catch the fish but I didn't really get to experience what the reel had to offer as I caught the fish in about 2 second.

What I did note was how quickly I learned the reel. I've been out all day trying to learn other casting reels. Forcing myself to just keep throwing them and adjusting them hoping something would click. With this after my 10th throw I felt like I really had it down, I also felt I was just as accurate with this as I am with my spinning reels. The other thing I REALLY liked was the ability to make short casts. I could give this a flick of the wrist on a backhand toss along the bank for a quick 15' cast no problem.

A few casts later I was on my second fish and now I had a fight. The reel worked just as it should. I was able to let the fish run around a bit then pull him to shore no problem. I still can't believe the size of the bass that come out of this little pond, after all it's only 100' x 200' and maybe 4' deep.

If you can't tell by now I'm a big fan of this cheap baitcaster...

Now I'm still in the honeymoon phase with this reel. I've only made maybe 100 casts with it, considering a day of fishing could be 1,000 casts I have no idea what the long term durability of this lure is. As I mentioned early on it's very plain Jane, and at $18 I don't think they have the room to use the best material in the world, but right out of the box it's been a great lure, which is why I decided to buy 2 more. Well, really I plan on having 1 as a backup and doing a giveaway with the other one (Keep an eye out for that). Until then you can purchase this awesome baitcaster reel by CLICKING HERE!

I'll be sure to report back when this lure finally craps out on me and how it works with an 8lb snakehead on the other end. Until then, I have a new found passion for baitcasting reels!

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